Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
A Second Two-Tiered Stopgap Signed into Law

Last week, the Senate used a shell legislative vehicle, H.R. 2872, which carried a second two-tiered stopgap, that would further extend funding for the government. Funding for federal agencies under four appropriations bills (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies) that ran out on January 19 was extended until March 1 and the February 2 deadline for the remaining eight appropriations bills to March 8 (view a section-by-section summary).  

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer cleared the stopgap on Thursday after agreement was reached on allowing certain amendments, and Sen. Marshall’s motion to send the bill back to the committee to be voted on. The House quickly passed it (314–108) before leaving for a district work week January 22–26. The Senate remains in session during those days.

Completion of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bills requires appropriators to allocate funds to each of the 12 appropriations subcommittees. These allocations, which are still being assigned, are known as 302(b) allocations. They determine how much of the $773 billion in total nondiscretionary funding will be provided to key bills funding the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, the VA Medical and Prosthetic Research Program, and the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative for FY 2024. FASEB’s federal funding data showing how funds from these programs and agencies are distributed in each state and congressional district will be made available to the public by the end of February, with the most up to date data from FY 2023.

Meanwhile, the FY 2025 appropriations season will kick off with the announcement of the president’s budget soon after the March 7 State of the Union address.